The title deacon Zoltán Veress, who has been serving at the Roman Catholic Parish of St. István Király in Karcag, told the news portal szoljon.hu about his difficult childhood in Transylvania, his boxing career and the priests' football team.

– How did you get into the priesthood? 

- I was born in Székelyudvarhely. It is difficult to articulate and capture the moment, as it was a process. I have been playing sports since I was young, I did athletics, football, wrestling, and boxing - in the latter sport, I was ranked third nationally in Romania as a youth, which was not easy as a Hungarian. At the same time, I went to the church to minister, to youth theology, and sang in the church choir. For me, sports and the church have always been together. Boxing went very well, they encouraged me to be a member of the selected squad.

And then, at the age of 16, I started thinking about what would happen after that, maybe I would become European champion, world champion... How to proceed? I really say, a divine spark made him see, I can do much more as a priest.

I formulated this in such a way that I would like to give people the message that life is beautiful because God loves us. There was theological training in Gyulafehérvár in Transylvania, but I was not admitted to the preliminary seminary, I worked for one year. I was seventeen years old when the revolution came in March 1990, everyone had high hopes, we expected what a beautiful, good world it would be now, but the events took away everyone's spirits. A lot of young people, so I headed for the border with two friends, got on the train and came to Békéscsaba, the refugee camp, where I received political refugee status. In the end, I ended up in Eger with a company, where I endured for a month and a half as a mental helper alongside the masons - it was not my world. Then I became a sacristan in the Franciscan church there. I fit in well, while I graduated.

"Did you know then that you were choosing this?"

"I felt that it was no coincidence that I was back in the vicinity of the church." The sisters of Miss English had a vow there, listening to this I felt again that I belong in the church...

I was attracted to the Franciscan spirituality, I spent a year in Budapest, in the house of the Franciscans, then there was a strict retreat in Szécsény, I didn't meet anyone for a year, only the community of monks. I had a very good year, but at the end I understood that monasticism is not my path, I feel like a secular priest.

My task is to plow the world, to reach everyone and tell them that life is beautiful, that we don't have to live our lives so gloomily, because there is hope for the Christian person.

That's how I ended up studying theology in Eger, I was ordained in 1999. After serving in Ózd, Mezőkövesd, Jászberény, and Sátoraljaújhely, in 2004 I became the pastor of twenty-one settlements in Felsővadász. In addition to pastoral care, I built a church, community center, parish and community in Homrogd, where I moved in 2012. Until recently, I served in this small village of Cserehát, until Father Archbishop asked me to become the parish priest of Karcag from August 1.

"What have you managed to build so far?" 

– I inherited many things that I try to continue, and there are things that I will transform according to my own taste and habits. The first thing I changed was the order of the Masses. From September, I will celebrate mass in Tiszaszentimré at 8 a.m., in Kunmadara at 9 a.m., in Berekfürdő at 10 a.m., and in Karcago at 11 a.m. I think this schedule is more practical, there is no suitable time for everyone. I would like to support the Szent Erzsébet community with the middle and young age group, and the older age group in the Szent István community. I need time to get to know the needs, but I also tell the faithful that I cannot and do not want to be Father Zsolt (his predecessor was parish priest Zsolt Gulyás - ed.), because we are simply different personalities, but I recognize what he did and I thank him and father János for building this community, for which I also want to work.

"What does relaxation mean?" 

"The sport." I play soccer, I play in the national team of Catholic priests. Soon we will go to Barcelona to play with the old boys there. I also run, swim, and play table tennis quite well. Along with health, sport is part of my existence, as it is also necessary to be in top shape mentally, spiritually and physically.

Source: szoljon.hu

Cover photo: Parish priest Zoltán Veress, title deacon at the opening mass of the school year/ Photo: Erzsébet Daróczi / szoljon.hu